


Forever and Always

by UpAtMidnight



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 10:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19810798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UpAtMidnight/pseuds/UpAtMidnight
Summary: Trigger warning for anything to do with hospitals. Nearly all of this fic takes place in a hospital so if you aren't comfortable with any of that I would advise not reading.





	Forever and Always

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning for anything to do with hospitals. Nearly all of this fic takes place in a hospital so if you aren't comfortable with any of that I would advise not reading.

As soon as Alyssa got the phone call from Betsy saying something had happened to Emma she found herself telling her boss there was an emergency and sprinting to her car. She was shocked she didn’t end up crashing or getting pulled over considering how fast she drove to the hospital.

She ran up to the front desk, not knowing where to go.

“Emma Nolan, do you know where she is?” the lady at the front desk looked up slightly startled,

“Let me check. She’s in ICU room three but I must let you know it’s only family members who are permitted into the room at this current moment.” Alyssa was shaking,

“I am family, I’m Alyssa. Emma is my fiance. Please I need to see her.”

“Of course ma’am, the room is on the second floor.”

“Thank you” Alyssa made her way to the elevator, trying to stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks. She knew if someone was in the ICU it meant something was seriously wrong. Her hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t even press the button for the second floor once she was in the elevator. Another man who had already been in the elevator stepped forward,

“What floor do you need to get to?”

“Second, please” Alyssa had giving up on trying to prevent her tears and she knew she must have looked like a crazy woman but she didn’t care, she needed her Emma.

“Of course. I don’t know your situation but I promise, the doctors are doing their best. No matter what.”

“Thank you, it means a lot.”

The doors opened again and Alyssa stepped out into the hallway and turned left, trying her best to walk with composure. Up ahead she saw Betsy step out of a room, her right hand on her forehead. Alyssa walked up to her,

“Betsy. Where is she? Is she ok?” Betsy looked up and immediately pulled her into a hug,

“Oh darling. She’s in the room. She was out for a walk and some driver obviously hadn’t seen her crossing and he kept on driving. It’s not looking great honey.” Alyssa couldn’t stop sobbing by that point,

“Can I see her? Please?”

“Of course you can. Do you need me to come in with you?” Alyssa nodded in response, drying her eyes before the next wave of tears came. She took a shaky breath and with Betsy’s hand in her own she pushed the door open and took a step into the room. Her breath hitched when she saw Emma. She was in the bed unconscious with a neck brace on and a breathing tube in. Her leg was covered in what looked like some type of cast and she had countless tubes going into her hands and chest. There was a doctor and nurse in the room, looking at her chart and adjusting the different tubes. The doctor turned around, a woman who must have only been in her late twenties, not much older than Alyssa and Emma,

“Hi I’m Dr.Miller” she extended her hand to Alyssa which Alyssa took shakily, “you must be the fiance?”

“Yes I am, Alyssa. Is Emma ok? What’s happening?”

“Well the car hit her pretty hard but thankfully the driver stuck around and we know he gave the police a statement and his details. We’ve done some scans and tests and she’s got three broken ribs, a displaced fracture to the right tibia and a sprained wrist. When it comes to the head, we don’t know the full extent of her injuries and we won’t until she’s awake.” Alyssa was trying her best to keep it together, nodding along as the doctor spoke,

“How long will it be before she’s awake?”

“Well with the drugs we’ve given her it’s going to be at least a day or two but it will probably be longer if her head injuries are bad. I’m sorry this is all happening Miss Alyssa.”

“Two days? Oh god, thank you for helping her.”

“That’s what we’re here for. In about thirty minutes we’re going to take her up to theater to perform surgery on the tibia.” Alyssa nodded again,

“Can I go sit with her?”

“Of course, Nurse Spencer will be in and out of the room just monitoring Emma. I’ll be back in half an hour.” Alyssa had made her way over to Emma and sat in the chair beside her while Betsy thanked the doctor. Alyssa gently took Emma’s hand in her own. 

“Hey Em. I don’t know if you can hear me but if you can, I love you. You can get through this I just know it.” her tears were falling down onto the bed,

“You, you are the strongest person I know. Please don’t leave” she dropped her head down and barely whispered the last part of her sentence,

“Don’t leave me.” Betsy held Alyssa while she cried, neither of them speaking. After what felt like only five minutes to Alyssa, Dr.Miller walked back in with a hospital porter,

“We’re going to take her to surgery now. It could take a while, just a warning.” Alyssa kissed Emma’s hand before standing up from her chair and whispered,

“I love you”. The porter wheeled Emma’s bed out of the room, leaving Alyssa and Betsy in an empty room neither of them quite sure what to do with themselves.

After an hour of sitting there without a word spoken between them Betsy spoke up,

“Alyssa dear when was the last time you ate?”

“Oh this morning I think.”

“It’s seven now, come on, let's get some food in you.” Alyssa shook her head,

“I can’t, what if Emma comes back and no one is here for her. I can’t do that to her Betsy.” Betsy walked over to Alyssa and put her hand out to give Alyssa a hand up from her chair,

“Alyssa even if she does come back in the time we’re gone, she’s not going to be awake. You heard the doctor, it could be days before she’s awake again. We can’t let you fall apart due to not taking care of yourself.” Alyssa grabbed her jacket and followed Betsy out of the room, making their way down to the little restaurant that was on the first floor of the hospital. As they ate their sandwiches Betsy kept asking Alyssa questions about her work and such, trying her best to distract Alyssa enough from the current situation.

When the two of them got back to the room they found Nurse Spencer entering right after them. Alyssa found herself getting more and more anxious,

“How’s she doing? Is everything ok?” Nurse Spencer hooked up the bag he was preparing for the iv,

“The surgery went well, they’re just finishing up and Emma should be back in about twenty minutes.” Alyssa breathed out a sigh of relief,

“Oh thank god, thank you”. The hours following that were long and tiring. Emma was still out when she came back from the surgery and all Alyssa could do was sit there holding her hand, praying she would be ok. Alyssa wasn’t one to pray without being made to but for the first time in years she prayed. She prayed that Emma would make it out ok.

Betsy had gone back to Emma and Alyssa’s house around midnight to get a change of clothes for Alyssa and some other things she thought the two girls might need. After 40 minutes of Betsy being gone she sent Alyssa a text,

**_“I’m going to sleep here tonight, I’ll be back early in the morning. Try get some sleep Alyssa xx”_ **

**_“Ok I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll try my best x”_ **

Alyssa didn’t sleep that night. She was scared Emma wouldn’t know what was happening if she woke up while Alyssa was asleep. Doctors and nurses came in and out of the room throughout the night. At 4am Dr.Miller came in,

“Hey Alyssa how are you doing?”

“Me? I’m ok but it’s Emma who should be checked on.” Alyssa hadn’t let go of Emma’s hand all night.

“Emma is being given the best care she can be given but it’s also important that you’re taken care of as well. Both emotionally and physically. Have you gotten any sleep yet?” Dr.Miller sat down in the chair beside Alyssa.

“No. I’m scared. What if she wakes up when I’m not awake, or what if she never wakes up. I can’t lose her”

“Alyssa you need sleep. Emma won’t be awake for a while still. I know it’s scary but I promise we are doing everything in our power to help her.” Alyssa took a deep breath,

“I know, thank you” Dr.Miller stood up again,

“My shift is over but I’ll be back in the evening. Try your best to get some sleep” and with that it was just Emma and Alyssa left in the room again.

Betsy had arrived back at the hospital around 8am and had managed to convince Alyssa to get some breakfast and coffee with her. As they ate Betsy updated her on any news,

“I called the broadway gang last night and they said they’re getting a flight this morning so they should be here early afternoon. I also called her parents. Her mom said she’ll come to visit but her dad doesn’t know if he can get off work” Alyssa rolled her eyes,

“Jesus Christ you think they would make some sort of an effort.”

“I know but I guess it’s just how it is. Have you called your mother?”

“Not yet, I’ll call her when the broadway gang gets here, so they can sit in with Emma for a bit.”

It was around 2pm when the broadway gang showed up. There was still no updates on Emma, except for that she was stable. There was a knock on the door and Barry entered the room followed by Dee Dee, Angie and Trent.

“Hey guys, can we come in?” Alyssa stood up from the chair and enveloped Barry in a tight hug,

“Of course. God I’m so glad to see you guys” Alyssa had buried her face into Barry’s shoulder so her speech was slightly muffled. Eventually she stepped back and gave everyone else a hug. The four adults walked over to the bed and to Betsy.

“How’s Emma doing?” Angie asked softly, not directed at anyone in particular.

“She’s stable. That’s all we know” Alyssa walked over to the bed, holding Emma’s hand again. Looking Emma with all the tubes, bruises and cuts over her body was enough to cause Alyssa to just crumble. Trent held her while she cried, neither of them exchanging any words but both of them sharing a silent level of understanding. The door to the room opened and Nurse Spencer walked in,

“Oh I’m sorry Emma can’t have this many visitors at once. We have a policy of only two to three visitors in the room at once” everyone nodded in response and Alyssa moved to give the actors a chance to be with Emma, that is until Dee Dee spoke up for the first time,

“I’m sorry what? What do you mean we can’t all be here at the same time for her?”

“I’m sorry ma’am but there needs to be space for the doctors to do their work and the more people in the room the greater the chance of Emma getting an infection.” Dee Dee was furious,

“I flew over two hours to get here to see Emma. This girl is like a daughter to me, to all of us. How dare you tell me, a two-time Tony Award winner and a Broadway star that I can’t see her. I need to be here for her” by the end of her outburst Dee Dee had tears spilling down her cheeks.

“I know it’s hard ma’am but you can still see Emma, as long as there is an appropriate amount of people in the room. Three is the maximum amount of people permitted.” Dee Dee sat down again, putting her head in her hands,

“Oh my I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shouted.” 

“It’s ok, I understand how stressful it must be for you all”. After a minute Alyssa left the room along with Trent and Angie, letting Betsy, Barry and Dee Dee be with Emma. They all made their way to the family room.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dee Dee cry before. Not like that anyway.” Alyssa sat down on the couch that was in the room, grateful that she was sitting on something other than the chair in Emma’s room.

“I know kid, she’s not dealing well with this. I don’t think anyone is” Angie sat down beside her while talking.

“I just wish we could help more” Trent sighed.

“All of you being here helps more than anything at the moment. You know her dad won’t even come up to see her.”

“That’s fucked” Angie stated a little too loudly which caused some of the parents with little kids in the room to glare at her.

“Wait I have to call my mom. I haven’t told her what happened yet”

“Ok honey we’ll be right here if you need anything”

Alyssa stepped out into the hallway and called her mother, after only a few rings she picked up the phone,

“Alyssa darling, hi. How are you?” Things with her mother had improved drastically over the years after lots of education.

“Not good mom, something bad happened.”

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Where are you?” the panic was clear in Mrs.Greene’s voice.

“It’s not me mom, it’s Emma. She got hit by a car yesterday and she had to get surgery and she’s in ICU and I just, don’t know” Alyssa slid down the wall, sitting on the ground and sobbing into her phone, not caring about anyone who might be judging her.

“Oh honey that’s awful. Can I help at all? Do you want me to come to the hospital”

“Yes please. Mom I’m so scared” Alyssa managed to choke out.

“I know you’re scared but it will be ok. I’m going to get into the car now and I should be there in under an hour. What room should I go to?”

“ICU room 3”

“Ok I’ll be there soon, I love you Alyssa”

“I love you too mom” Alyssa hung up and just sat in the hallway sobbing. After a few minutes Angie had come out to check on her,

“Oh Alyssa, honey” she joined her in sitting on the floor and held her in her arms until Alyssa ran out of tears. 

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess I just don’t know what I would do without her. I can’t lose her, she means everything to me. I mean we’re supposed to get married and grow old together. This can’t happen. It just can’t” 

“I know it’s hard and I’m not going to promise that everything will be ok because that would be wrong but I know you Alyssa and I know Emma. You will be ok and get through whatever happens I just know it. And Emma is a fighter, she’ll fight as long as she can.” Alyssa nodded and dried her eyes for what felt like the millionth time in the past twenty-four hours,

“I hope she wins this fight.” 

Angie sighed, “Me too honey. Me too”

After Betsy had come out of the room Alyssa decided to go in and check on Emma and also on Barry and Dee Dee, who had been switching with Angie and Trent periodically. 

“Hey kiddo how you doing?” Barry stood from his seat to let Alyssa sit down next to Emma and Dee Dee.

“I don’t know. I want to say I’m ok but I’m not. I’m terrified that Emma is going to make it.” she squeezed Emma’s hand, holding her breath as she waited for her to squeeze her own hand but soon realised there was no point in waiting for something that wasn’t going to happen.

“Oh honey I’m sorry. We’re all here for you both, always.” Dee Dee held her as she spoke.

After twenty minutes of sitting in silence, the door opened and Betsy popped her head in,

“Alyssa, your mother is here.” Alyssa walked out of the room and immediately fell into her mother’s arms. Mrs.Greene rubbed her back and held her until Alyssa stopped crying.

“Sorry mom, it’s just been hard”

“You don’t have to apologize for a single thing honey, I know it’s hard but I’m here for you. I got you”

That evening Alyssa finally fell asleep in the hospital chair around eleven o’clock, with her mom and Betsy in the chairs beside her. At five o’clock they were woken up to one of the many machines beeping like crazy.

“Mom, Betsy wake up. Something’s wrong, get a doctor quick.” For the first time in nearly 48 hours Alyssa saw Emma moving, but not in a good way. She was having some type of seizure and Alyssa didn’t know how to help. The next few hours were a blur to Alyssa. Dr.Miller came into the room with a team of other nurses and Alyssa and family were quickly rushed out of the room.

They all sat in the family room with the Broadway gang for hours until Dr.Miller came to get them. She led all seven of them into an office and had Alyssa and Betsy sit down in front of her with everyone else standing.

“I’m going to be honest with you all, it isn’t looking great. Emma was stable up until now but we fear that her brain injuries are worse than we suspected. The cause of that seizure was build up of pressure on her brain. Thankfully we released some of the pressure and have given her some medication to help with it but we don’t know how long it will last. The next 48 hours are critical. I’m so sorry” a series of gasps and sighs went around the room, except for Alyssa. She sat there staring at the wall behind the desk,

“She’s going to die isn’t she? She’s never going to wake up?”

“Like I said Alyssa, the next 48 hours are critical. After that we are going to try wake her up using medication.”

“And if she doesn’t? If she doesn’t wake up what happens?”

“I’m afraid the decision to take her off life support or not will have to be made.”

“So she’s going to die.” Alyssa stood up and left the room without saying another word. She felt like she was floating through the hallways, as if part of her was still sitting in that office. She ended up in the courtyard of the hospital, sitting on a bench and staring at the tree in the centre of the yard. She thought back to all of her memories with Emma. Their first date, first kiss, their prom, moving into their college dorms, graduating and finally buying a house together. She looked down at her hand to see her engagement ring and was instantly thrown back to the evening of the proposal. Emma had brought her to dinner and then they went to the local carnival afterwards, walking hand in hand. When they got to the ferris wheel Emma stopped in front of it and got down on one knee with the ring in hand. Alyssa had never felt happier in her life than at the moment. Her day dream was interrupted by a voice out of nowhere,

“Alyssa are you ok?” Barry walked over and sat down beside her.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? That was some pretty heavy information you just got told back there and I-”

“Barry I’m fine.”

“You know it’s ok if you aren’t, it’s understand-”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP BARRY.” she stood up from the bench, hands shaking, “I said I’m fine so that means I’m fine. I’m absolutely fine with the fact that Emma is probably going to die” she felt like she couldn’t breathe, “I’m just, fine” walking back into the building and making her way up to the second floor she could feel her eyes welling up with tears. Not paying attention to where she was walking she ended up walking straight into Betsy.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t looking and-”

“Alyssa it’s alright.”

“I exploded at Barry. I kept saying I’m fine even though I’m not and now I feel horrible for shouting at him but I also have to be there for Emma and all of you guys and it’s just a lot”

“Hey it’s ok. I’m sure Barry understands and what’s important is that you’re there for Emma and for yourself. We’ll all care for ourselves honey.”

Over the next 48 hours Emma’s condition only worsened. She was still unresponsive, she had more seizures and she was relying more and more on the breathing tube. Once again Dr.Miller brought everyone into her office, this time with Emma’s parents as well who had miraculously showed up the day before.

Dr.Miller sighed before speaking,

“I’m sorry but Emma is only getting worse. There are two options available. We continue with how we’re going but risk further brain damage and no improvement or we can remove her breathing tube. Emma will either breathe by herself and hopefully her condition will improve over time or she will pass away within a few hours of the tube being removed. We will make herself and all of you as comfortable as we can whichever decision you make.” before anyone could speak Emma’s dad spoke up,

“Just make sure she doesn’t suffer.”

“Of course Mr.Nolan”. Betsy took Alyssa’s hand in her own and looked at her,

“Whatever you choose we will all support you. You’re her fiance, you get to make the decision” Alyssa looked to Dr.Miller,

“If the breathing tube is removed how long before she stops breathing.”

“A few hours at most.”

“And she won’t be in any pain?”

“No, there’s enough painkillers in her system that she won’t feel a thing.” Alyssa sat there for a few minutes before answering,

“Ok. You can remove it. I can’t handle the thought of her having to lie there for longer and only getting worse.” 

As Alyssa was Emma’s next of kin she signed the consent form. They all stood outside the room while the doctors removed the tube. Dr. Miller left the room with the other doctor behind her,

“Ok, you can go in now. We’ll be in the room to make sure everything goes smoothly but we’ll be in the corner out of the way.”

Alyssa sat beside Emma holding her hand while people came in and out of the room. They had decided beforehand that they would all have the chance to come in and say goodbye separately, all of them agreeing to let Alyssa stay there as well. Emma’s parents came in first. Neither of them had much to say except goodbye and a kiss on the forehead. Next was Trent. He recalled the memories of teaching at their old high school and how great a person Emma was. Angie came in afterwards with a bracelet that had a charm with the word “zazz” engraved in it. She didn’t say much except for how much Emma meant to her. Dee Dee entered the room quietly. The only thing she said was, “You did us all proud kid. Thank you”. Finally out of the Broadway Gang, Barry came in. He talked about all of their trips in New York and how talented Emma was. He ended with “You did good Emma, you did really good”. Of course Emma couldn’t respond, still being unconscious but everyone needed to say goodbye in their own way. 

Mrs.Greene came in and held one of Alyssa’s hands and one of Emma’s. She apologised for how she treated her in the past and how grateful she was that they had grown closer over the years. When Betsy came into the room Alyssa left her alone, knowing she needed her own type of privacy to say goodbye. Finally it was Alyssa’s turn. She sat down on the side of the bed holding Emma’s hands.

“Hey babe. I don’t think you can hear me but I need to say goodbye. I hope you’re not angry at me I just didn’t want you to suffer any longer. I love you so much and you will always be my love. Forever and always. I hope I get to see you again. In a different time.” She kissed Emma’s forehead, “I will always love you Emma Nolan.”

Alyssa sat there for a minute just crying gently until she finally realised what was off about Emma. She wasn’t wearing her glasses. She rushed out of the room, startling everyone as she went.

“Emma doesn’t have her glasses. She’s not Emma without them. I need to go get her spare pair from home.”

“Honey are you sure?” Betsy walked over to her.

“Yes. I know it’s stupid because she’s not going to be awake to need them but it wouldn’t be right. I’ll be back soon.”

Before anyone could stop her, she was making her way down to the parking lot. She got into her car for the first time in days and started the, thankfully only 15 minute, drive. 

When she walked into their house and it felt empty and cold. She didn’t feel the usual comfort she felt when walking into the house. She made her way up to their bedroom and took Emma’s spare glasses from the drawer in her bedside locker. She knew she had to get back for Emma so she went to leave but before she could, something was sitting on the kitchen table that caught her eye. A note, more specifically a note from Emma,

**_“Hey baby I don’t know if you’re going to be home before I am so I’m leaving this note in case. Keeping it old school! I’ve decided to walk to the store to get some food for dinner rather than driving, save the planet and all that. I’ll be back soon. I love you x -E”_ **

And that’s what broke Alyssa Greene. Seeing Emma’s final message and her handwriting made her just break down. She sat on the floor of the kitchen holding the note and sobbing for what felt like years. Then it hit her that Emma didn’t have long left. She grabbed the glasses again and started the drive back to the hospital.

The closer she got to the hospital, the more anxious she got that she had been gone too long. She reached the second floor and turned the corner to see everyone outside the room crying. She ran up, tears streaming down her face.

“Am I too late? Please don’t tell me she’s gone.” Everyone looked up at her but no one could make eye contact with her. Finally Mrs.Greene spoke up,

“Alyssa I’m so sorry.”

“No. No the doctor said we had a few hours. She can’t be gone. No she can’t.” She stumbled into the room and saw Emma lying in bed. She was no longer attached to any tubes and her chest was no longer moving up and down. Emma Nolan was dead. Everyone followed Alyssa in and Betsy put a hand on her shoulder,

“I’m sorry honey, they tried to get her to breathe a bit longer but she couldn’t. She lost her fight” With trembling hands Alyssa walked over and placed the glasses on Emma’s face.

“Forever and always baby.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always extremely appreciated


End file.
